The Cheerleader and the Girl in the Library
by My-Idol-You-Chan
Summary: Riko sees a new girl in the library one day an, by many instances of chance, becomes good friends with her
1. Chapter 1

Down by the coast there was a high school, a private one that most of the surrounding city went to. It wasn't the biggest, but still had a big enough of a student body to elicit the formation of a few big sports teams. By far the most famous was the school's soccer team, they'd gone out and won multiple championships and done extremely well. There were the basketball and swimming teams too, they weren't as good, but still earned themselves some recognition occasionally. And finally, there was the football team; this team was… not the best. It almost seemed like a curse, but no matter how good the players on the team were in a given year they just could not do well. For some odd reason though, the team still got to have a set of cheerleaders for them, even when the turn out for their games was startlingly low. Having to be present for every game of a terrible team AND act interested in it? That was a mighty task for almost anyone, and few of the cheerleaders even bothered to look mildly interested, really only being there to do some pseudo-acrobatics. However, there was one girl who always seemed to have on a smile during those games, and even when no one else was, she was trying her best the whole time.

This girl was Riko Sakurauchi, a second year at the school. If you were ever among the few to attend one of the school's football games, and noticed the cheerleaders, Riko was kind of hard to miss. Aside from her brilliant red hair, she just had a vibrant air around her that just drew your eyes to her. She always seemed to be smiling when she was in the main attention, but off the field, she probably isn't what you would expect. You might think she'd be super popular or always at the center of attention, but it is actually quite the opposite. When she wasn't out at practices or games, Riko was usually doing some sort of studying or… reading manga, or playing games; she was actually quite a nerd. She tried to hide this side of her at school though, she didn't think that anyone would like to see it. She of course had friends, but none that she could consider close, so really, that persona was known only to her, and the friend she'd made in the clerk at the bookstore.

Since it was fall, the weather tended to be a bit erratic, a bright and shining morning could be a precursor to a deluge the same day. This particular day was one which didn't much care for a prologue and just decided to rain all day, sporting cool temperatures and a gray sky. Normally, Riko would just go home after school, so long as she didn't have practice, but today, with the weather being what it was, she decided she'd do something different: she was going to go to the library to study/read (and maybe catch up on some manga she'd been missing). When the school day finally ended, the rain was coming down in full force, so RIko was quite satisfied with her new plan. The walk went by fairly normally, she passed by and said hi to a few of the other students, and she was finally able to come to her temporary sanctuary. Upon entering, the room was quiet (as one would expect of a library) and the only real noise to be heard was the splattering of rain across the windows, a very pleasant white noise. After a brief inspection to take in the room (and make sure no one she knew was there), she decided upon a table by the window, she thought that the gray light from outside was quite charming. After a few breaths to make sure she was completely calm, she opened up her myriad of textbooks and began to hit the school grind.

As with any student, Riko could only take so much mental torture before she had to take a break. A long sigh escaped from her as she leaned back and rubbed her eyes of their weariness. When she returned to her neutral position, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye, another student. _She must have come in while I was working, I didn't even notice…_ The girl seemed to be doing much the same thing as Riko, but was incredibly organized as opposed to Riko's books splayed everywhere. Gladly taking the time as a mental reprieve, she took some time to examine the new girl, who was deeply engrossed in what she was doing. She had ashen hair which was tied back in a ponytail and wore a pair of thick rimmed glasses; it really was a cute but studious look. Although she didn't really make it a point to notice everyone in the school, Riko was surprised that she hadn't seen this girl around. _Her uniform is a second year's, I wonder what class she's in?_ Her eyes unintentionally wandered a bit, and when they ended upon the girl's backpack, Riko saw a very familiar sight: on one of the zippers was a tiny, goofy looking duck, a character from one of Riko's favorite manga series. She didn't think anyone else knew about the series, and the fact that a person who does goes to her school? She got very excited, but was also nervous. _H-how can I approach her? Would it be weird to point it out? Maybe she doesn't know where it's from and just got it as a cute gift…_ All sorts of thoughts drifted through her mind, and to make matters worse, when she finally came back to reality, she realized that she was staring right at the girl, and she was staring right back. Her embarrassment making her face bright red, Riko quickly looked back down at her work and pretended to be busy.

Riko was thrown for a bit of a loop by being discovered, so she suddenly became laser focused on her work, knocking almost all of it out before looking up again. To both her relief and disappointment, the girl seemed to have left, she wasn't at the table anymore and her bag was gone. By this time it had gotten a bit late and the weather outside had cleared up, at least temporarily, so Riko thought it an apt time to head home. Though she had other things to think about, she just couldn't stop thinking about that new girl; she was a mystery to Riko and she wanted to solve it desperately. On the way back, Riko noticed that she would be passing by her usual bookstore, so decided to go in for a bit, see if anything interesting was there. Upon entering the store she could feel herself become more at ease, the partially dimmed lights, the smell of paper, the enumeration of shelves, it all felt so welcoming. Knowing exactly where to go, she meandered her way through the shelves and, as always, found herself at the manga section. She began to scan through the titles, seeing first if any of her series had gotten updated and then looking for anything else that looked intriguing. Luck seemed to be with Riko because it so happened that two of her favorite series had new books, so she eagerly grabbed them and began heading towards the front. As she rounded the corner, a voice rang out from somewhere. "Heeeey, Riko-chan! Over here!" Searching for the source of the familiar voice, Riko quickly found that it had come from the front and, specifically, from her friend who was an employee at the store, Chika. What Riko did not expect was to see a newly familiar face standing next to Chika.

Hesitantly, she made her way towards Chika's counter, very unsure of what would be happening soon. "Hi Riko-chan! I'd like you to meet our new employee, You-chan! She started here recently and I was chosen to be her mentor." Chika said that last bit with the pride of someone who'd finally gotten to show how good they are at something. "H-hello, I'm You Watanabe… it's nice to meet you…" You said all this in a very quiet voice, so quiet Riko almost couldn't hear it. _So she's really shy, huh…_ Chika jumped to the side slightly and put her arm around You's shoulder, causing the girl to blush and for her glasses to jostle on her face a bit. "C'mon You-chan, you gotta talk louder! Here, why don't you try checking out Riko-chan?" The girl seemed incredibly uncomfortable with the request, but she slowly made her way to the register, slightly adjusting the hat she was wearing so the hair got out of her face. "I-is that all for today?" It took Riko a moment to realize that You was addressing her, so she hurriedly took the books and placed them on the register, barely managing to get out a rushed affirmation. It was only when You stopped for a brief second to look at one of the books that Riko realized the utter irony in the situation: one of the volumes that she was buying was the same one as the character that was on You's bag earlier. As much as she wanted to make some sort of comment about it, all the nervous thoughts about how a comment like that would sound weird rushed to her mind and before she could calm down, You was already done. "P-please come again." To Riko's surprise, she ended this with an extremely bright smile, something which seemed almost out of place compared to her previously mild manner. Getting out a quick thank you, Riko rushed out of the store, Chika shouted after her as she left, with her heart pounding.

When she finally got home, Riko really needed to take a moment to take in everything that had happened that afternoon: she'd seen an unknown and strikingly cute girl at her school, she went to the bookstore she's been too hundreds of times, and the mysterious girl ended up working there too, checking her out no less? It almost seemed too good to be true. Now, even more than before, Riko wanted to try and talk to that girl, but the doubts from earlier also seemed to have intensified. _Does she think I'm weird now? Does she know who I am? Did she recognize me from earlier? Will it be weird if I see her again?_ It took her a moment to finally collect her thoughts, but she eventually calmed down. It was only the first day meeting her, there was no reason to get riled up about it. As much as she could, she tried to push thoughts about You to the back burner of her mind and went upstairs to finish the rest of her work, and, of course, to read her newly acquired books. She passed the night in an enjoyable manner doing that, and, at last, it was time to end that hectic day. As she was laying down to sleep, Riko's mind unintentionally wandered back to You. Odd as it was, she just was captivated by that girl and was kind of excited by the prospect of being able to see her again. Just maybe, Riko thought, she'd go by the library again after school tomorrow…


	2. Chapter 2

The next day came almost in opposition to the previous. Clear skies, warm weather, it seemed like a perfect day for a sports practice. _Wait_. As Riko was slowly coming to and remembering the previous day's events, she realized a major error that past Riko had made in planning: she had cheerleading practice today. Now, she couldn't try to see You again, at least not today, but any longer and she felt her opportunity for a new friend would be lost. She'd made the commitment long ago to cheerleading, she couldn't just skip it… could she? A brain trying to figure a way out of a situation is one of the most imaginative things possible, no excuse is too crazy. _I've gone to every practice for almost two years now and I'm definitely the most dedicated one there, I think it'd be ok if I miss one. I can just say that… some family matters came up. Yea, this is perfect!_ And in this hastily thought out moment, Riko decided upon her plan for the day, opting to forgo her pre-scheduled practice and, instead, chance that she might see You instead. With her mind (somehow) happily at ease with this newfound revelation, she set about her normal morning routine and got ready for school.

Naturally, the entire day seemed to go by at a crawl. Riko found herself constantly checking the clock and, even when what seemed like hours had gone by, Mr. Clock didn't seem to agree with her eagerness. However, at long last, the final bell of the day rang out and Riko was out of the door before it even stopped. Though it came a bit late, the walk to the library was the first time that Riko actually thought about her plan, and it was then that she realized another major flaw in her plan. Last afternoon, You had come into the library some point after Riko had entered, which had already been a bit after school; if she went now, she'd probably be waiting for a while before the other girl arrived, which, of course, wasn't even a guarantee. Upon this revelation, Riko felt incredibly silly and stupid: she was getting extremely excited for a fairly simple reason and, in that excitement, she'd made a horribly rash plan that was full of flaws. With how scattered she was feeling, she now, legitimately, didn't think it was a good idea for her to go to practice, so she decided to at least go with the reasonable parts of the plan. However, she felt that she needed to clear her mind a bit and what better place to do that than… the library.

With a better reason for going there now, Riko began to make her way towards the fabled literary sanctuary. When she got there, she retraced her steps from yesterday and did a scan of the room: no You in sight. While her whole plan was to actually see her, Riko was somewhat glad that she wasn't there upon her arrival. She went over, grabbed the same desk as yesterday, and just sat to think for a while, closing her eyes and resting her head on her hands. For a while, she just stayed like this, the process calming her down and bringing her brain down to a normal speed. Her introspection, however, was interrupted when she heard the sound of a chair being moved and a bag hitting the floor. Opening her eyes, Riko saw that, as she'd hoped, You was now in the library, sitting this time a desk closer. A byproduct of the morning's earlier, incomplete plan, Riko realized that she still had no good idea of how she was going to approach You. Going and talking to her immediately seemed a little too… desperate, in her mind, so she decided to wait a little before attempting to make contact.

Time passed, they studied, nothing changed, nobody made a move. Finally, Riko came to a sort of revelation, one that was, once again, prompted by a desperate brain. _Wait, I'm a cheerleader, I've done more courageous things than just talking to someone else. Come on Riko, you can definitely do this! Just stay calm…_ This temporary courage boost was what she needed to make a move, however, un-thought out it was. After a deep breath, Riko stood up, trying to seem as natural as possible: You didn't make any motion to indicate she noticed. Cautiously, she walked over and stood near the table, waiting for You to look up so that she could make an introduction. You must have been very involved in her work because, for a few minutes, she didn't even make a move, Riko was slightly worried she might be dead. Upon a slightly closer inspection, she saw that the girl had headphones in and, shockingly, had her eyes closed. _She's asleep! Just my luck…_ Feeling that maybe Fate was trying to save her from herself, she began to walk away but stopped when she heard a groaning from behind her. The previously unconscious girl was now sitting up, rubbing her eyes, and, after a brief moment, took notice of Riko standing near her; noticing the girl made You cast a puzzled gaze at her. Realizing that it might seem slightly odd for Riko to be standing almost right next to You when she woke, she quickly tried to explain herself. "A-ah, h-hi Watanabe-san! I-I couldn't help but notice the character you had on your backpack, it's one of my favorite series, and, um…" She said the first thing that came to her mind but had no idea how to finish out the thought. Thankfully, You smiled and looked slightly excited at the partial comment, no trace of her tiredness at all. "Isn't it?! It is so good but no one's heard of it. When I saw you buying it yesterday I almost commented on it but…" She turned her head a bit away, "I was too nervous to…"

As was typical for the day, Riko felt a bit silly again. _She's a lot like me I guess…_ The library assistant, a girl who Riko had met a few times, Hanamaru, politely asked them to move out of the library if they were going to keep talking. Both of them apologized for the commotion they'd caused and, after a slight conversation, decided to go up to the roof; they weren't _technically_ allowed up there, but no one ever checked and students frequented the place in off hours. It was a shot jog to the staircase and when they finally reached the roof, it was calm, peaceful, and, thankfully, empty. Even though Riko still had a bit of work to do, she decided not to get it out of her backpack, deeming that whatever might happen here would be more important than something she could do at home. The two found a shaded spot and sat down there, leaning against the wall. For a few minutes, neither of them said anything and just took in the moment for what it was. This made Riko very anxious. _Oh gosh, did I make this awkward for her? Maybe… maybe she's not the best with conversations… should I start something?_ As she was about to speak, she heard a soft voice come from next to her. "S-so, h-how do you know Chika-san?" Riko was surprised that You had initiated the conversation but it made her immensely relieved. "Oh, I've known Chika for years, we went to elementary school together. It might surprise you, but she used to be really shy; it was a long while before she became as outgoing and crazy as she is now." As expected, You seemed shocked by this, but her face also took on a slight, almost sad, smile. "I see…"

Once again, silence fell upon the pair, but Riko was determined to keep a conversation going. "So what made you want to work at the bookstore?" In what Riko thought could only be the grace of a deity, this seemed to perk You back up and took them down a long and winding conversation. They talked about the bookstore, what their favorite mangas and books were, what classes they were in at school (it turned out You's homeroom was on the opposite side of the building, hence why Riko had never seen her), what they did outside of class (You seemed surprised that a cheerleader was into manga and the library), and other smaller topics. As the conversation went on, You seemed to get more comfortable and at ease with everything; she talked a little louder and, as opposed to keeping them by her side, started using her hands when she told certain stories. What Riko had expected to be a relatively brief interaction turned into an afternoon long event and by the time they were done, it was getting dark out. Unfortunately, they both lived on opposite sides of town, so they could only walk with each other as far as the school gates. When they got there, the sun was just making its way down the horizon, casting a beautiful orange which the girls stopped to admire for a moment. "Well, I had a wonderful time today Watanabe-san, I hope we can do it again!" Riko said this and began walking away until, suddenly, she heard that small voice from behind her again, straining to be louder than it wanted. "S-Sakurauchi-san!" Hearing her name, Riko turned and saw You standing where she was before, her face very red. "Could…. Could…" She looked down, "Could you just call me You?" The red haired girl was caught off guard by the comment, her face turning the same color as her hair, but she also felt very warm and happy inside. Putting on a reassuring smile, she countered with her own subtle, friendly wish. "Ok, but only if you call me Riko!" You finally looked up and had a huge smile on her face, melting Riko's heart a little. "Yes!" You turned and began running home, looking almost like an excited child running to her parents, but she turned around before she go too far. "See you soon Riko-chan!" She said this and waved for a moment before continuing her way home.

After all the day's events, Riko felt a happiness she hadn't in a long time, the genuine happiness of being with a friend, but this happiness was also mixed with a giddiness that she couldn't quite put her finger on. When she got home, she mentally put aside her responsibilities for a bit and just sat on her bed, thinking about how happy the day had made her. She'd been so absorbed in the afternoon that she'd completely forgotten that she'd skipped her practice, but even when she did remember, it didn't faze her at all; she knew that she'd made the right decision and she wouldn't have traded that time for the world. Unfortunately, Riko was still a student, so she couldn't just happily reminisce the whole night, meaning that she finally had to rouse herself and get to working on that annoying thing called responsibility.

Over the next few months, Riko and You spent a great deal of time together. While she still made it a point to be active on the cheerleading squad, Riko found herself missing a few practices now and then; much like lying, convincing herself it was fine became easier and easier with every passing time. One day, towards the beginning of spring, Riko and You decided that they were going to grab some food after school, a little place that You had always wanted to go but had never had someone to accompany her. The elected day happened to fall on a practice for Riko (You was busy every other day that week), but by this point, Riko had become slightly numb to the sting of neglected responsibility; she didn't like that it had come to that, but no one had commented on her absences, so she just began running with it. As soon as the last bell rang, the two met outside by the school gate and headed to the restaurant. The day was a bit gray and the spring air brought with it the cold and a hint of moisture in the air. They spent the time of the walk in little conversation, brief mentions of how their days had gone, but now, they were both comfortable with silence between them. Over time, Riko had become less worried about when You got quiet and had found herself sometimes talking less than she did in the past.

When they got close to their target establishment, You's happy and quiet demeanor turned into more of an excited one. "We're getting close!" It'd been a while since Riko had seen You this excited and the sight made her smile; the girl's happiness was utterly contagious. When the finally got to the place, Riko could see why You was excited: the windows had displays lined with delicious looking foods, from sweets to sandwiches, and the inside looked very nice. Entering the place, it smelled and sounded almost exactly like you'd expect, the low drone of the restaurant complimenting the familiar yet exotic smell. They joined the line and discussed what they'd be getting: with a slight embarrassment, You said she was getting a collection of sweets, while Riko decided that she was going to have a sandwich alongside a hot chocolate (the cold made her really want something warm). They eventually made their way to the front of the line, with You being in front of Riko. You's ordering went smoothly, but, when Riko reached to pay for her own order, she realized something terrible: she'd left her bag at school. She began panicking, fretting about how she would pay and trying to explain to the cashier her problem, but she kept stumbling over her words. In a moment of quick decision, You placed enough money on the counter and grabbed Riko by the hand, leading her over to a table. Sitting down and doing a bit of an internal reset brought Riko back to a stable state of mind. When she finally looked up, You was sitting across from her but had a very worried look across her face. Riko felt terribly embarrassed for the whole situation and seeing that set of caring eyes magnified by those glasses made her feel even worse. "H-hey, it's okay Riko-chan, you don't have to worry about anything, everything's fine." Riko couldn't think of a way to reply to such a nice response to her silliness, so she just grabbed You's hands and sat there like that for a while, the girl graciously compying. Soon, their names were called to pick up their orders. Begrudgingly, Riko was about to stand up to get it but You dissuaded her. "I'll get both of ours, just stay here." Riko would have argued but didn't have the willpower, nor desire, to.

You came back with trays of food in tow, placing them in their respective places. Riko still felt totally outrageous for acting so poorly, especially in front of You. "Hey… I'm sorry for all this You-chan… I totally overreacted for no reason…" Instead of giving a verbal response, You, flashing a smile, grabbed a cookie from her newfound collection and held it out, gesturing it towards Riko. "Here, try this, it'll make you feel better!" "T-thanks…" The cookie, upon tasting, was incredibly good and that, combined with the intent behind the gesture, made Riko feel immensely better, even to the point that she teared up a bit. You seemed to not know how to deal with the situation. "Ah…. Uh… umm…" Realizing how odd it must seem, Riko dried the tears from her eyes and attempted to alleviate worries. "No no, it's alright, this is all just so wonderful. Thank you You-chan, truly, thank you so much, for everything." The two shared a moment of mutual smiles and were able to go back to normal, conversing and eating as if none of the previous confusion had happened.

As an unfortunate reminder of nature's cruel sense of humor, while the pair was dining, a storm rolled in, bringing with it an increasingly intense fall of rain. To add to the fun, Riko's umbrella was sitting comfortably next to her school bag. Which was not with her. "Huh…" Riko couldn't help but sigh at just how preposterous this afternoon was turning out to be. "What's wrong Riko-chan?" You said, tilting her head a bit. "Ah, it's nothing, I just realized that I left my umbrella back at school too…" Upon hearing this, You looked down and back up, her face now blushing slightly. "I, um, I brought mine, we can share it, I can walk with you back to school…" Riko hadn't expected You to come up with such an…. Intimate but compassionate plan, but she the prospect made her really happy. "Are you sure? Isn't going back to school the opposite way of your house?" You just smiled and waved her hand. "Don't worry, it's ok! Isn't that was friends do?" Riko, very happy, returned the smile, and the two continued on with the rest of their meal. When the food was gone, aside from what You decided she was going to take home, they stepped outside and, covered by the café's awning, prepared You's umbrella.

To Riko's unconscious excitement and conscious embarrassment, the umbrella was terribly small: fitting two people underneath it required one person to be practically holding onto the other. Since they were both about the same height, and it was her umbrella, You insisted that she hold it, so Riko was forced to make the walk with one hand always on You's shoulder. She was glad the ashen haired girl was in front of her because Riko's heart was pounding and her face was about as red as her hair. Thankfully, there was little wind with the storm, but the rain still caused the journey to be a slightly trepidacious one, making it take a while to finally reach the school. When they did eventually arrived, even though they had had the cover of the umbrella, they were both mildly soaked. They spent a few minutes standing in the locker area drying themselves off, but finally, Riko broke the silence. "Thank you so much for walking me up here You-chan, it was so helpful, even if we did get a bit wet still…" They laughed together over the fact that, while it did help, the umbrella didn't exactly perform its duty the best. "Anyway, you can head on home now, I'll be fine once I get everything from upstairs." To her surprise, You didn't leave, rather, she actually came inside more, sitting herself down against the lockers. "It's fine, I'll wait here for you. I mean… if you don't mind…" Once again, You's gesture made Riko feel all warm inside. "No, that's fine, thank you You-chan, I'll be as quick as I can!"

Since she'd had plenty of time to think about it, Riko remembered exactly where she'd left her bag, so she rushed upstairs to her homeroom. Thankfully, her bag and umbrella were right where she'd left them. Quickly as she could, checking to make sure everything was there and in order, she grabbed her stuff and headed back into the hall. However, her exit was now blocked by a multitude of bodies, creating a living wall she could not pass. She quickly realized that this wall was made up of members of the cheerleading squad, almost all of them. Clutching her bag tightly, Riko began stepping back until, to her horror, she hit a wall. The girls began closing a half circle around her, cutting off her escape paths. "So, Sakurauchi, you think that you can just skip out on practices whenever you want? Think you're better than us and can just ditch?" It was one of the girls in the center, and a girl on the left followed. "Ya, coach has made us do extra laps every day you've been gone, it's the, like, worst." Riko had no idea that her coach had done that, she felt really bad now… "I-I'm sorry everyone, I really had no idea, if there's some way I could make it up to you guys…" The girls began moving in closer. "Oh, you don't have to make it up to us, we just need to make sure you pay."

Riko was terrified, she'd never felt this before, this… terror. It felt so foreign, she didn't like it, not at all. She scanned again, there weren't any good escape routes she could use. Even if she was strong from cheerleading, there were so many of them, they could easily overpower her. She didn't know what to do, she felt like she COULDN'T do anything. More than anything, she wanted this all to be a bad dream, to be able to wake up and this all be over, wake up and just have another normal day, another day with… _You-chan… Oh no, if she heard this commotion..!_ As if on cue, a small voice, trying its best to sound big, rang out through the hall. "H-hey, let her go..." From her position slouched against the wall, Riko could see a small figure standing a bit down the hall: it was You. "No… Just run You-chan!" But it was too late, the girls had noticed the new challenger. "Hmmm? And just what do you think you're doing? C'mon girls, let's rough this one up a bit." Leaving behind one girl to watch Riko, the rest of the squad moved towards You, making Riko's heart run wild, she was so scared. Not wanting to, if it happened, see You get hurt, Riko closed her eyes and just prayed that some miracle would happen.

"Wha-" _Thump. Th-thump_. Suddenly, Riko could hear what sounded like people falling to the ground, and she dared to open her eyes. The sight that greeted her was quite a strange one indeed: 3 of the cheerleaders were now lying on the ground scattered around You, with You still standing, completely unharmed; the rest of the cheerleaders looked stunned. Seizing the moment of confusion, You, with incredible speed and deftness, ran, grabbed Riko's hand, and rushed down towards the staircase on the opposite side of the hall. In a matter of moments they were down the stairs and outside, You had barely stopped since they'd left the hall. The whole time, they didn't say a word to each other, You just kept an iron grip on Riko's hand and ran, no particular place in mind.

Eventually, they arrived at You's house (it was the first place that You's feet thought about). Upon arrival, they both went inside, the grip between their hands still strong. They walked for a moment until they reached what Riko conjectured was the living room, and when they did, You fell onto her knees. Though she hadn't been able to since leaving, Riko could finally see her savior's face: it was full of tears. What was initially just a few tears turned into full on sobbing and shaking. Though they still hadn't said anything to each other, Riko felt like she understood and found herself crying too, joining her companion in a tearful hug. Though the sniffling and sobbing, You managed to speak a little. "I-I-I was so worried about you… I was so scared… Oh God…" Hearing that brought Riko's heart agony, knowing that she'd caused her so much pain, so she hugged her even tighter. "I-It's ok You-chan, I'm here, we're ok…" And for a while, the two just sat there in that embrace, crying tears of grief, happiness, and every emotion in-between.

After a while, they came to a mutual stop of tears and got to look one another in the eyes. With her mind mildly clear, Riko wanted to, in the nicest way possible, get some questions answered. "So, um, how'd do you do that You-chan? I mean, take care of all of those girls, it was incredible…" The other girl gave a small laugh and adjusted her glasses so she could dry her eyes a bit. "Ehehe, I actually do a lot of swimming, and my dad made me take a few years of martial arts when I was younger. When everything was happening, I guess those instincts just came back…" Though she'd known You for a while now, Riko had never heard anything about that side of her. It was shocking, but she felt really special knowing it, since if she'd not known that, she doubted anyone else did. And yet, there was still one question bugging Riko. "That's… wow, I never knew… But, You-chan… Why? Why go through all that for me? You could have gotten really hurt… I just… I don't know why you did so much for me… What did I do to deserve your kindness?"

At this question, You seemed to compose herself, thinking heavily about what she was going to say, and trying really hard to not cry during it. "Y-you're just… you're really important to me Riko-chan…" Her voice was quiet, almost like when they met the first time. "For so long I… I never had any good friends, no one who I wanted to know me, wanted to see at all." Much as she tried to stop it, the dam holding back the tears began to break. "When you first talked to me in the library, I was just… so happy… Every time we talk I get… excited, I'm happy, I feel… complete. If you were gone… I don't know what I would do with myself… When I saw you being cornered earlier, I was scared, terrified, my legs didn't want to move but… my brain just told me to help you, and I guess my body did…" You took a moment and collected her breath, calming down and wiping the tears from her eyes again, seemingly steeling herself for something. "The truth… the truth is Riko-chan… I think I l…. l…" She couldn't seem to get the words out right, but through sheer force of will, she tried again, closing her eyes. "I love you Riko-chan, I don't ever want you to leave. I don't want to have to go through days without you. Every moment we spend together is the happiest I've had and I… I don't wanna go back to the times before that, I don't wanna be alone again."

Hearing that confession made Riko feel like she'd been hit in the heart with a searing hot brick. She suddenly found herself flashing back to all the amazing times she'd had with You, from meeting her for the first time to even just the odd lunch they'd had some random day, and thought about how she felt during all those times. She realized that maybe she'd figured out what that weird lingering emotion was she'd always felt when she was with You, the one she couldn't identify after meeting her for the first time. Now was the moment, however, that she needed to decide what she wanted to do with it. She thought about the future and its uncertainty, how she had no idea what life would throw at her next, but really, she realized that she felt the same way as You; whatever crap Fate wanted to throw at her, she wanted to have You by her side the whole time. Drying away any tears from her eyes, Riko made ready for her reply. "I… I love you too You-chan, I want to experience the future with you, whatever that may be, I want you by my side." Riko, while saying this, grabbed You's face by the sides, faced it towards her, and, once she'd wiped away all the girl's tears, took her into a kiss. You's excitement was almost tangible in the moment, and she didn't hesitate to reciprocate the action, given that she'd gotten a non-verbal GO.

This moment lasted a while, as both of them were sufficiently enjoying themselves and didn't really want it to end, but as with all good things, it did. The ending of the moment finally made them realize a fact that had been startlingly obvious since they'd arrived at You's house, but they'd been too emotionally charged to notice: they were both soaking wet. When they ran from the school, it was still most certainly raining and during that time, they'd had no umbrella to even marginally protect them. Both seeming to notice at the same time, they laughed at how unobservant they'd been. "So, um, do you have a change of clothes I could borrow?" You seemed to have a better idea. "Here, follow me!" Finally rising from their crumpled heap, and occasionally using the wall and each other to steady their unsteady legs, they journeyed deeper into You's house and came upon… "A bath?!" In You's house was a small, but still decently sized, set of hot spring baths. "Eheh… Ya, my parents are big in the hot springs industry, so the insisted that there be one at this house too…" It dawned on Riko a strange fact that had been eluding her until now. "Wait, You-chan, do you live alone?" The girl gave out a slight laugh and rubbed at the back of her neck. "Y-ya… My parents wanted me to go to our school but couldn't move out here themselves, so they had this place built for me…" Riko was shocked but was also reminded of her own situation; she too lived alone because of pretty much the same reasons, but her parents didn't get her a house with hot springs (she was slightly jealous).

The two got to enjoy a relaxing bath after the long and hectic events that had been today, it was truly revitalizing. While it was still just them spending time together something felt… different, but in a good way, a very good way. Once they were done with the bath, You gave Riko a pair of her pajamas that she thought would look good on her (they did) and also suggested that Riko should spend the night; since there was no one waiting at home for her, Riko easily agreed. Much as they'd pushed it out of their mind until now given they'd had more important matters to deal with, they both had a fair amount of homework to work on, but now, they could do it in a fun little group, even if the work wasn't for the same classes. The studying took up most of the rest of the night and, as much as they wished they had time for more fun things, it was time for bed once that was over. You had laid out an additional futon in her room for Riko and the two settled down for the night finally. As she lay there, eyes closed and already well on her way to asleep, Riko felt a soft pair of lips touch her forehead. "Thank you Riko-chan, I'm so happy to have you with me." She could hear the shuffling of sheets as You crawled back over to her futon, leaving Riko to be happy by herself. With everything that happened today, even though some of it had been scary, she was really happy that everything happened as it did, because if it hadn't, her heart might still, unconsciously, be going through torment, knowing that she wasn't with the person she was meant to be with.

From that day onward, You and Riko's relationship only grew more, as is to be expected. Riko went to every one of her practices after that and profusely apologized for missing so many sessions, though her coach seemed to not have been too worried. Strangely, all the girls on the squad now slightly avoided Riko when they didn't have to do a routine with her; something about having someone's girlfriend deck you and your friends when you have a numbers advantage much be a bit startling. At the end of the school year, since they were both living alone, You and Riko decided to move in together, with You's house being the obvious choice of the two. Explaining the circumstances of why Riko didn't want the house anymore was an interesting time but her parents were wholly open to the idea, they were happy for her. As they'd worried about that first night, the future was utterly unpredictable, truly, anything could happen. However, as scary, menacing, and uncomfortable as it may be, You and Riko were ready to face it; so long as they had each other, nothing could faze them.


End file.
